His Other Love
by litbuff
Summary: GSR, sort of. The other woman in Grissom's life.


**Title: **His Other Love

**Author**: litbuff

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything related to CSI except for six seasons on DVDs.

**Pairing: **Grissom/Sara.

**Rating: T.**

**Spoilers:** If it's on TV, it's game.

**Summary: **GSR, sort of. The other woman in Grissom's life.

**A/N:** The inspirations for this story came from the song "I Loved Her First" by _Heartland_ and some real life events. Enjoy and comments are always welcome! Thanks again for reading! Peace…

* * *

**His Other Love**

**Author: litbuff**

_From his table, Grissom stared at the beautiful brunette waltzing on the dance floor with her new groom, her face glowing from the activity and slightly blushing at something her new husband had just whispered in her ear. A part of him wanted to walk up to her and cut in. There was so much he wanted to tell her... especially how he wasn't ready to let her go... not just yet..._

_It seemed like only yesterday that she told him earnestly that she would love him forever... and only him... And he had told her he loved her too... forever. She took away a very large portion of his heart and a sense of loss suddenly overwhelmed him, sending tears flooding the recesses of his narrowed eyes._

_Sensing his moment of weakness, Sara reached out to touch the back of his shoulder and rubbed lightly, "You're ok?"_

_Grissom just nodded silently, not trusting his voice._

_Sara stood up and tugged at his hand, "C'mon, let's dance. We don't want to make her sad on her big day, do we?"_

_He shook his head and smiled at her, "Don't want that..."_

_Sara grinned back at him and led him onto the dance floor. _

* * *

"Griss..." Sara shook Grissom from her side of the bed. "Griss... wake up...I think the baby is coming..." 

Grissom flipped his body toward her and said groggily, "Can you wait til later hon... I'm so sleepy..."

"Griss!" Sara shook him harder as he drifted back to dreamland. "I am having the baby, right now!"

Grissom sprung from the bed and immediately reached for the phone.

Sara gave him a perplexed look and inquired, "Who are you calling?"

He looked back at her, confused, then instantly dropped the phone and reached out to her. "Ok, you're having the baby... right... hospital...'k... got it!"

They quickly changed clothes and grabbed the packed "Mom and Baby" overnight bag that was sitting in the hallway. He then ushered her out the door and instantly ran back inside the house to grab the car keys.

The drive to the emergency room was uneventful except for Sara's punctuated gasps as her contractions coming closer to each other. Once they were situated in the maternity ward, Sara was left alone with Grissom as she went through the last stages of her labor before she was fully dilated at ten centimeter.

"Griss..." Sara grabbed his hand with the intensity only matched by her contractions. "I. Am. Not. Having. Another baby after this!"

He squinted at the pain in his hand but bravely smiled at her. "I don't blame you honey."

"I swear, if you want more children," Sara gasped between short breaths, "you will have to find yourself another woman."

"I don't want another woman..." He lifted a wet towel on the nearby table and wiped away the sweat from her forehead.

"What happen if you find someone else and... and... fall in love with her?" Sara squeezed her eyes shut as the latest waves of contractions coursed through her body.

"You're the only woman I'll ever love."

Sara proved him wrong the moment the obstetrician announced they had a daughter, let him cut the umbilical cord and placed the baby in his waiting arms. Her downy chestnut hair wisped softly atop her pale skinned head. When she opened her eyes for the first time and looked crossed eye at him, he knew then that he had to relinquish a part of his heart that only until recently was reserved solely for Sara. He was not afraid though because he knew the other love of his life would gladly share her space to accommodate this new "woman" in his life.

* * *

"Dada?" 

"Yes, honey?" Grissom glanced up from his breakfast and gazed into the adoring eyes of his four-year-old daughter.

"Are you and Mommy married?"

Grissom could feel the alarmed look from Sara as she sat across the table from him. He raised his hand to grab hold of Sara's and gave her an assuring squeeze.

"Brianna, your mommy and I love each other very much if that's what worrying you." He said carefully, hoping to settle whatever insecurity his little girl was having.

"But are you married to each other?" Brianna voiced up again, apparently not satisfied with her father's answer.

"Baby," Sara finally spoke up, smiling gently at the curly brown haired, brown eyed toddler on the verge of becoming a gangly little girl, "your daddy and I are very devoted to each other and there will be no others for us in this lifetime."

"But Mommy, are you married to Dada?" Brianna was persistent in her inquiry, clearly not happy with her mother's reply.

Sara looked at Grissom, hoping he had a better answer, one that somehow would not upset Brianna and yet close to the truth as much as possible. Grissom nodded in thought then opted for the truth.

"Brianna honey, sometimes in life, people don't have to be married to each other to prove that they love each other. So, the answer to your question is 'No', Mommy and I are not married but we do love each other very much, as much as we love you."

"Good Dada!" Brianna's face lit up brightly and announced, "Because I am going to marry you when I grow up!"

* * *

"Daddy?" 

"Yes, honey?" Grissom looked up from his oatmeal and toward Brianna.

"Tuesday is show-and-tell." Brianna smiled hopefully at him. "Will you be my show-and-tell?"

Grissom grinned at his six-year-old pony-tailed daughter. "I would love to! You want Daddy to talk about my bugs?"

"No, Daddy." Her face turned serious. "I want you to talk about how you catch the bad guys."

"Sweetheart, you sure you don't want Daddy to talk about bugs? I'll even bring Charlie." Grissom inquired of the little girl, bribing her with the pet tarantula that she seemed to grow attached to lately.

"No, Daddy." Brianna said again, this time firmly. "There's this boy in class who always picks on the girls and no one can stop him. Even Mrs. Conner said she gave up on him." She paused momentarily before continuing, "I want you to scare him Daddy."

"Do you think that is a good idea?" Grissom tried to keep a straight face at the grimness of the situation. "The other boys may not go near you again."

"Ewww... Boys! I hate boys!" Her face grimaced into an extorted expression, then she said with conviction, "You're the only boy I'll ever want to play with Daddy!"

* * *

Grissom jerked his head in the direction of the slammed bedroom door. He turned toward Sara and she just shrugged. 

"Should we..." Grissom started to ask, though unsure of the right question concerning the ten-year-old.

"Nah. Latest crush." She gave him a grin and continued cutting up the tofu for the salad. "Jimmy Neutron boy genius decides he's more interested in his chemistry set than girls."

"Stupid boy!"

"Yeah, you tell me!"

* * *

He was surprised, then worried, when he heard muffled sobbing as he walked by his daughter's bedroom. He immediately stopped in his track and knocked softly. Sara poked her head out and just shook it and disappeared back inside Brianna's bedroom. 

Half an hour later, Sara came into their bedroom and sighed. "Sean Michael Thomas!"

Grissom set aside the book he was reading and gave her a confused look. "Should I be concerned of this Sean Michael Thomas??"

Sara joined him on their bed and explained, "Only fourteen and already wanted to concentrate all of his time on advance classes so he can get into the Ivy League."

"What happened to Jimmy Neutron boy genius?"

"Griss, that was four years ago." She snuggled against him as she playfully stroke his chest. "Many iterations of Jimmy Neutron boy genius had come and go and you didn't even notice."

He grabbed her wrist and flipped her onto her back, effectively pinning her under him. "Stupid boys! They don't deserve her!"

Her mouth came up to capture his as she gasped, "You're right on both counts."

* * *

"Dad..." 

"Yes honey?" Grissom inquired between bites of pancakes.

"Um... how do you know when you're in love?"

He almost choked on his flour concoction as his eyes furrowed at her question. "Should you be asking your mom this question hon?"

Brianna gave him a determined look, "I wanted to know from a guy's perspective... you know... since you're a guy and all..."

Grissom gazed at his daughter for the longest time. She had grown into a perfect clone of her mother, though without the cute gap between her front teeth. Brianna and him used to be close when she was little but since she hit puberty and boys entered the picture, he sort of miss the girl who wanted to grow up and marry Daddy. Her question about being in love totally caught him off guard and made him realize, with a hint of sadness, that his little girl was no longer little.

He took a gulp of skim milk and began his answer. "Hmm... um... your throat goes dry when you see her... uh... you're kinda tongue-tied when you're around her..." Grissom thought of the early years when he first saw Sara and how he danced around her and never quite knew what to do with her. "And... you get really scared..."

"Scared?"

"Yeah, scared." He nodded his head at his stupidity and the years he wasted when he could have just taken the plunge and admitted his love for Sara.

"Oh..."

"What's with the 'oh'?" Grissom eyed his seventeen-year-old daughter as she prepared to pick up her empty plate.

"Nothing..." She walked toward the sink, then as an afterthought, doubled back and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you Daddy! You're the best!"

Yup. He had officially lost her to the younger male population.

* * *

"So, what do you think Dad?" Brianna glanced at Grissom as he eyed a tall auburn haired young man as he disappeared across the restaurant toward the men's room. 

"He's ok." Grissom answered offhandedly.

"Just ok?" Brianna pursed her lower lip at him, her eyes teasing. "Dad, he's an entomologist, just like you."

"Too much like me," he turned to face her, trying to swallow the feeling of loss that threatened to engulf him, "which is not good. Ask your mother."

Sara smiled at him and patted her daughter's hand, "He's perfect."

"Yeah Mom?" Brianna gave her mother a lopsided grin then eyed her father again. "Dad doesn't seem to approve."

"I never said I don't approve... I just said he's too much like me." Grissom looked at Sara, regrets evident on his face.

Sara understood immediately what he meant to say and instantly reached out to him. "If I have to start all over again, I don't want to change a thing."

He squeezed Sara's hand gently and said in a quiet tone, "I don't deserve you."

Sara's eyes turned moist at his words. He scanned her face and felt his heart fluttered. Could you fall in love with someone all over again when you were already in love with her? The answer for Grissom was a resounding 'Yes' and he could testify to that.

"So Mom," Brianna reached out and caressed Sara's arm like she had seen her father did many times before, "now that I am no longer interested in marrying Dad, will you marry him instead?"

Sara looked incredulously at Brianna then at Grissom. He just shrugged at her and grinned sheepishly.

"He said he proposed to you many times through the years but you kept shooting him down so he wants to try a new tactic this year."

Sara quirked a brow at Grissom and he gave her another shrug.

"I would love to be your bridesmaid, Mom." Brianna carefully pulled a small velvet box from her purse and handed it her mother.

Grissom started to shift in his chair, indicating he wanted to make his intention known. Sara's arm suddenly shot out and grabbed onto his tightly.

"Sara?" He gave her a worried frown.

Her eyes turned misty as she sniffed, "Don't do it Griss, you may not be able to get up once you're down on your knee."

"I take that as a 'Yes'?" Brianna asked her mom, hopeful, mirroring her father's face.

"How can I resist the two of you?" Sara hugged both her daughter and her new fiance tightly as joyous tears streaming down her face.

Grissom eyed Brianna and mouthed the words _Thank you!_ and she silently replied _You're welcome!_

"Uh... congratulations Dr. and soon to be Mrs. Grissom!" Brianna's boyfriend, Alec, had finally returned to the table and carried an anxious look on his face.

"You knew?" Sara asked Alec, surprised that everyone was in on the proposal.

Alec nodded his head and exchanged a knowing glance with Grissom as Grissom nodded his head back at Alec. The young man then stood up and got down on one knee and took Brianna's hand. Brianna was shocked into silence at Alec's actions.

"Brianna... will you marry me?"

"Yes!" Without missing a beat, Brianna jumped off of her chair to hug him, nearly knocking him backward. She then jokingly asked, "So, where is my ring?"

"Your dad told me to propose first before buying the ring since he thought it would jinx the proposal if I did."

"You knew! But how...?" Brianna eyed her father accusingly, got up and pulled Alec back up their respective chairs.

"Long story." Grissom chuckled then added, "Us entomologists do keep professional secrets among ourselves."

"This calls for a toast, don't you think?" Sara raised her champagne flute, happiness clearly etched on her face.

* * *

Grissom and Sara swayed to the music on the dance floor. They were not really dancing but just holding onto each other and rocking back and forth to the rhythm. 

"You're ok?" Sara asked, watching him staring at Brianna and Alec.

"Yeah..." Grissom sighed as he held her closer to him. "It's just hard to let go though... knowing that this day will come but... it's just hard..."

"I know." Sara's hand came up to gently massage the nape of his neck. "It's pretty tough when the woman who wanted to marry you decided to dump you for a younger man, hmm?"

"I'll get over it." Grissom winked at her as he gave a low moan to her massage. "I think we did good."

"Yeah, we did." Sara said softly into his ear. "My life has been good. I have a wonderful daughter, now a brand new son-in-law... and... one stud of a husband."

Grissom inhaled her faint perfume and whispered back. "I am luckier than you, my life has been blessed with not one but two beautiful women." He leaned in to kiss her forehead as he said hoarsely, "I am keeping this one though."

* * *

_**FIN**_


End file.
